HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP UNITED STATES SENATE

Transcription

1 S. HRG DISASTER RECOVERY: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF AMERICA S SMALL BUSINESS IN REBUILDING THEIR COMMUNITIES HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 Printed for the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship ( Available via the World Wide Web: U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) ; DC area (202) Fax: (202) Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC

2 COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS CARL LEVIN, Michigan TOM HARKIN, Iowa JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut MARIA CANTWELL, Washington MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana, Chair OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine, Ranking Member DAVID VITTER, Louisiana JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho MARCO RUBIO, Florida RAND PAUL, Kentucky KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts JERRY MORAN, Kansas DONALD R. CRAVINS, JR., Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel WALLACE K. HSUEH, Republican Staff Director (II)

3 C O N T E N T S OPENING STATEMENTS Page Landrieu, Hon. Mary L., Chair, and a U.S. Senator from Louisiana... 1 Snowe, Hon. Olympia J., Ranking Member, and a U.S. Senator from Maine... 2 Brown, Hon. Scott P., a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts... 4 WITNESSES A PANEL, CONSISTING OF: Sligh, Jr., Albert B., Associate Administrator, Mission Support Bureau, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security... 7 Harrison, Brigadier General Theodore C., Director, National Contracting Organization, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army Woods, William T., Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, U.S. Government Accountability Office A PANEL, CONSISTING OF: Bennett, Terri, Program Manager, Heartland PTAC Davis, Sid, President, Big John s Heavy Equipment, Inc Rentrop, Jr. Dale, President, Tiger Tugz, LLC Nunez Airhart, Mindy, Marketing Director and Assistant to the President, Southern Services and Equipment, Inc ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED Bennett, Terri Testimony Prepared statement Response to post-hearing questions from Senator Landrieu Brown, Hon. Scott P. Testimony Prepared statement Davis, Sid Testimony Prepared statement Harrison, Brigadier General Theodore C. Testimony Prepared statement Response to post-hearing questions from Senator Landrieu Response to post-hearing questions from Members Landrieu, Hon. Mary L. Testimony... 1 Post-hearing questions posed to Albert B. Sligh, Jr., and subsequent responses Post-hearing questions posed to Brigadier General Theodore Harrison and subsequent responses Post-hearing questions posed to Bill Woods and subsequent responses Post-hearing questions posed to Dale Rentrop, Jr., and subsequent responses Post-hearing questions posed to Terri Bennett and subsequent responses. 108 Post-hearing questions posed to Mindy Nunez Airhart and subsequent responses (III)

4 IV Page Nunez Airhart, Mindy Testimony Prepared statement Response to post-hearing questions from Senator Landrieu Orr, David W. Letter Rentrop, Jr. Dale Testimony Prepared statement Response to post-hearing questions from Senator Landrieu Sligh, Jr., Albert B. Testimony... 7 Prepared statement... 9 Response to post-hearing questions from Senator Landrieu Snowe, Hon. Olympia J. Testimony... 2 Woods, William T. Testimony Prepared statement Response to post-hearing questions from Senator Landrieu

5 DISASTER RECOVERY: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF AMERICA S SMALL BUSINESS IN REBUILDING THEIR COMMUNITIES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:07 a.m., in Room 428 A, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Mary L. Landrieu, Chair of the Committee, presiding. Present: Senator Landrieu, Shaheen, Hagan, Snowe, and Brown. Also Present: Senator McCaskill. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARY L. LANDRIEU, CHAIR, AND A U.S. SENATOR FROM LOUISIANA Chair LANDRIEU. Good morning, and welcome to the Small Business Committee room and welcome to our hearing this morning entitled, Disaster Recovery: Evaluating the Role of America s Small Business in Rebuilding Their Communities. Welcome to my Ranking Member, Senator Snowe. Good morning, and thank you for joining us for this timely and important hearing. Today s hearing focuses on the role that small businesses play in helping their communities following disasters, but it is also going to focus on the role of the Federal Government in making sure that small businesses are actually a part of that rebuilding, not only for the benefit of the communities they serve but for their own individual benefit, many of them ravaged by flood waters, high winds, and in some cases, the trembling earth. For example, right now small business in the states from North Carolina to Maine are trying to rebuild their communities impacted by Hurricane Irene. With that in mind, today we hope to hear about the federal disaster contracting process, more about the details, how is it working to direct this work that can be done so ably, so well, and with such appreciation, I might add, by the small businesses in these communities. We know there are two sides to this coin. Small businesses often get frustrated trying to navigate the federal procurement process while the Federal Government struggles sometimes to work with these small businesses unfamiliar with these system of procurement for goods and services. Today we are going to hear from some of our experts at the federal level, and then we are going to hear from some of our experts (1)

6 2 from the field, actual small business owners who have had in some cases good experiences, in some cases terrible experiences, in this sphere. We want to present to you today the good, the bad, and the ugly. Senator Snowe and I are committed to help make this process better, to improve upon it. I believe we have made some improvements since Katrina and Rita, but today we will hear more about exactly how significant, if at all, if there were any improvements in the system and what remains to be done. This year marks the sixth anniversary of Katrina, the costliest disaster in the State of Louisiana s history with over $81 billion in damage. We are now experiencing the impacts of disasters in all but two states in the United States, federally declared disasters, which is really unprecedented. This issue is relative not only to the work continuing along the Gulf Coast but most recently along the East Coast which Senator Snowe, I am sure, will share with us today. According to the GAO who will testify before this committee, Gulf Coast small businesses received almost $2.9 billion in contracts, 14 percent of the total, $20.5 billion in total federal contracts. We are happy to see that, but we hoped the number might be a bit higher. We are going to delve into some of those numbers today. On May 22nd of this year, winds engulfed Joplin, Missouri leaving large-scale damage on stretches of Main Street. Many businesses were either heavily damaged or destroyed. In the wake of the disaster, we counted on our entrepreneurs to repair damage to St. John s Regional Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in the area. The Federal Government reached out to construction companies in Joplin to help pick up debris and remove it so the community could get back to work. We are looking forward to hearing how many small businesses played a part in that effort. I am personally particularly interested in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They do a tremendous amount of work in my state, important work around the country, and I want to hear from the Corps about the ways that you all are working with small businesses to supply the rock, the sand, the levee construction materials, and other supplies that the Corps needs as we try to improve our levee system nationally. On our second panel, we will hear from members and small businesses from the Gulf Coast to Missouri to other small business communities. I think we have particularly strong testimony from Mr. Dale Rentrop, the President of Tiger Tugz from Louisiana. I am looking forward to hearing his story. It is not a happy one, but I think it will be informative. Thank you for your time. I will turn it over to Ranking Member Snowe, and then we will go to opening statements. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, RANKING MEMBER, AND A U.S. SENATOR FROM MAINE Senator SNOWE. Thank you, Chair Landrieu, for your continued and exceptional leadership of this Committee particularly on this timely issue of disaster recovery.

7 3 I want to welcome our panelists who have taken valuable time out of your own schedules to be here today to testify. Our first panel of governmental witnesses will discuss what federal agencies are doing to aid disaster recovery, and our second panel of small businesses and local organizations with boots on the ground will tell us about their experiences working with federal, state, and local governments in ways to improve that process. Much of the Senate s work this week has been spent with policymakers debating FEMA s funding shortfall which has left the agency unable to support long-term rebuilding and mitigation projects because the depleted disaster relief fund can only cover damage costs immediately afterwards. As the Chair has pointed out, FEMA has had to stop disaster recovery projects such as rebuilding of roads, hospitals, schools, and public utilities because they have run out of money. Hurricane Irene has only compounded the problem because FEMA is quickly spending the remaining money in a disaster relief fund on immediate needs for those left without shelter and food in the aftermath of the storm. Let me be clear. There is simply no excuse for Washington continuing to fund disaster accounts on an emergency and ad hoc basis rather than preparing for them in advance. That is why today I am introducing the Safeguarding Disaster Funding Act with Senator Scott Brown. This bill would require that the President s annual budget request for disaster programs include funding levels equal to the average amount provided annually for the previous 10 years. Additionally, disaster funding that goes unspent in a given year will carry over to support years where additional funds are required. This common sense approach would alleviate the political haggling and brinksmanship that has become all too common place in Washington, while ensuring that taxpayer supported disaster funds are properly budgeted and offset moving forward. I hope my colleagues in this Committee will support this bill and help to secure its passage. Responsible budgeting for disasters is the right thing to do for the victims of devastation as the vivid images from the damage of Hurricane Irene has reminded us. As one of the Senate Committees responsible for overseeing federal disaster assistance, today we will examine the degree to which one tool, contracting opportunities for local businesses that want to participate in recovery and rebuilding efforts, is being utilized. Hurricane Irene caused more than 4.5 million homes and businesses along the East Coast to lose power, including 185,000 in my home State of Maine which suffered flooding and washed out bridges in the western portion of the state. Now that the winds and rains have subsided, our cities and towns must rebuild from the devastation. Our local small businesses stand ready to aid in the rebuilding efforts, and the Federal Government should be partnering with these firms whenever possible in awarding recovery contracts. In response to the 2005 hurricanes, Gulf Coast small businesses received almost $2.9 billion in federal contracts or just over 13 percent of the $20.5 billion federal agencies directly awarded nationwide for recovery efforts related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

8 4 Key questions these statistics raise is, why are not more disaster recovery contracts going to local small businesses and is the Federal Government bundling many of the contracts out of convenience? This Committee has had a long history in trying to reduce unwarranted contract bundling to provide more opportunities for small businesses. In fact, the Small Business Jobs Act that was enacted last year contained a number of anti-bundling positions that had been passed unanimously out of this Committee. These provisions require bundled contracts to include small business teams or joint ventures. In certain cases, contracts are too large for many small businesses to compete and their only opportunity to participate in a project is to act as a subcontractor to a large business. In any construction contract over $1 million, a large business is required to submit a subcontracting plan to the agency before the contract is awarded. Unfortunately, in their report on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the GAO describes an alarming trend that federal agencies are not monitoring large business subcontracting plans which threaten small business participation in the rebuilding efforts. This morning that is one of the issues that I intend to explore in terms of what the federal agencies represented here today and others are doing to correct and to remedy these monitoring failures. So again, Madam Chair, thank you for your leadership and for this hearing here today. Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you so much, Senator, for being willing to help us try to solve this funding problem which is immediate. It is severe, and it is going to take our best efforts in the next few days to figure that out. So, thank you, and Senator Brown. Senator Brown. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SCOTT P. BROWN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS Senator BROWN. Thank you, Madam Chair, and Ranking Member Snowe for scheduling this hearing. It, unfortunately, has grave importance not only to many parts of the country but, as you know, to my State of Massachusetts. We have had an unusual string of natural disasters, obviously the tornadoes that hit in May in the western part of the state. Then most recently Hurricane Irene. We have had to rely on SBA, FEMA, and the Army Corps to get back on our feet; and I want to thank you all for what you have done and continue to do. Obviously, we are here to try to learn how to do it even better because over the past several months since the May tornadoes, I have been urging my constituents through videos and newsletters and the like to utilize the resources provided by SBA, FEMA, and the Army Corps so that their homes and businesses can recover quicker. The issues the Committee is looking into today are not to attack the agency or the representatives but to make them better and more accessible to the citizens that need them most.

9 5 I see two main areas of concern. First, the agencies need to do better at monitoring the contracts to ensure that the small businesses are truly getting our businesses to actually get out and do their jobs and have an opportunity to provide services and that the Federal Government is not being duped by the front facade contractors posing as small businesses. Most recently, speaking with many of the town administrators and mayors, when FEMA and other groups come into the area, they set up shop. They do their thing. They do it well. There is a lack of communication to the actual town administrators or mayors, and there is almost a duplicative chain like two trains going down parallel tracks and they are not really talking or communicating with each other. I think that is critically important. So, that is a suggestion I would certainly make. The second, in light of the discussions taking place where I know the chair has been very animated about a lot of the things that have been happening in the Senate, we need to take proper steps to budget better. It is common sense we do not properly budget for these types of disasters. When they happen and the money is gone, we are like, oh my gosh, where is the money? Well, we do not properly plan. Regarding the Senate s focus on this, I voted both times to move forward with the FEMA disaster relief bill as did other Republicans, because neighbors and constituents in Massachusetts have lost their homes and businesses, and quite frankly we need to do what we can to get them back on their feet so they can be contributing members of their towns and their communities and our state. Quite frankly, folks, you are Americans first and we need to start working together in these tough fiscal times as well as times when we deal with natural disasters. I, for one, will continue to work in a bipartisan, hopefully bicameral manner, to allow us to do it better. I am looking forward to cosponsoring a bill this week with Senator Snowe requiring the President s budget to include at a minimum a request for disaster funding based on the 10-year average on spending on disasters. We should not be getting insufficient budget requests for the disaster relief fund with agencies knowing full well that they can simply ask Congress for emergency supplemental funding or hope to count on a cushion from next year s surplus because we know disasters happen every year in your area especially and most recently in ours. Look what happened in Vermont, unheard of. Just speaking with our dear friends from Vermont, the senators from Vermont, they are just shocked. We need to plan. We need to do it better. I want to thank you for the hearing. Thanks for focusing on this issue, and let s get to work. Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. I will introduce the panel in just a moment but I would like to respond just a second. I thank you, Senator, for those comments, and animated is a very kind word for these speeches I have been giving on the floor. So, I thank you. You were very careful in your selection of words. Senator BROWN. That is how I am.

10 6 Chair LANDRIEU. Let me say this. We have budgeted for disasters. The average that we budgeted in Homeland Security, and I just became the Chair two years ago, so prior to my becoming the Chair, was about $800 million a year. I can give you the charts to show this, but I do not have them with me. When I became Chair, I knew that was not sufficient, so I doubled the amount of money up to $1.8 billion out of the Homeland Security budget which is a total budget of $42 billion. I have been resistant to budget any more out of Homeland Security because if I do that, it takes away grants from your states that help you to protect yourself against future disasters. I have said it is not right for the country to fully fund disasters out of the Homeland Security budget which is only $42 billion. So, I am looking for a solution. I think the solution that you and Senator Snowe have at least described to me just now in your bill that you intend to introduce might be one requiring the President to do a 10-year average. You take out the high and the low. The other problem with budgeting, Senator Brown, if I might say, in advance is sometimes events happen that no matter how well you planned just absolutely blow the roof off of any estimates and that is what happened in Katrina. Even if we had budgeted $10 billion which is going to be about what the average is, it was $43 billion. So, if one side continues to require offsets even when that happens, we are back in the same place we are now. I am willing to be open but we have got to find a way forward that allows in really extraordinary circumstances for there to be emergency funding because you will never, in my opinion, be as accurate as we need to be about it. We can prepare better. Absolutely. I think that might be a good approach, but we will see as we go on. Let s get our panel started. Mr. Sligh is the Associate Administrator for FEMA. I am looking forward to his comments today. He has more than 28 years of experience in leading acquisition contracting and program management initiatives with the Federal Government. Next we will hear from Brigadier General Ted Harrison, Director of the Army Corps of Engineers. Previously, he was Deputy Director and also Chief of Staff for the Joint Contracting Command in Afghanistan and Iraq. And lastly but equally importantly, we have Bill Woods, Director of the Acquisition and Sourcing Management Team for the GAO. So, why don t we start, I guess, Mr. Sligh, with you? Go right ahead and I think you have five minutes each for opening statements. STATEMENT OF ALBERT B. SLIGH, JR., ASSOCIATE ADMINIS- TRATOR, MISSION SUPPORT BUREAU, FEDERAL EMER- GENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Mr. SLIGH. Yes, ma am. Good morning, Chairwoman Landrieu, Ranking Member Snowe, and Senator Brown. My name is Al Sligh, and I am the Associate Administrator for Mission Support Bureau at FEMA. I appreciate the opportunity to

11 7 appear before this Committee today to discuss FEMA s efforts to increase contracting opportunities for local small businesses, especially in the wake of disasters. FEMA uses a variety of tactics to increase opportunities for small businesses. For example, we have a full-time small business specialist whose primary responsibility is to increase opportunities for small, minority, and the disadvantaged businesses. Using lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, FEMA has implemented a local contracting strategy. With this strategy, prior to issuing a solicitation, FEMA does research to determine whether enough small businesses have the capability to meet program requirements. If they do, then the solicitation is structured either as a local small business set-aside or to provide competitive advantages based on small business status as allowed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. I am proud to report that we exceeded the Small Business Administration goals for the Federal Government of 23 percent with 28.7 percent in fiscal year 2009, 26.9 percent in fiscal year 2010 of our procurement dollars going to small businesses. For fiscal year 2011, so far we are slightly above the federal goal. In the aftermath of a disaster, up to 40 percent of small businesses fail to recover which can significantly hamper the community s recovery efforts. While state and local governments issue the majority of contracts within the disaster environment using FEMA funds, FEMA is dedicated to help communities rebuild by awarding its contracts directly to local small businesses to the maximum extent possible. To aid local business contracting, local business transition teams are deployed to the field to encourage timely transition of contracts to local small businesses following the initial disaster response. These teams engage with the local business community to identify products and services that can be provided locally. In addition to the local transition teams, Disaster Acquisition Response Teams or DARTs provide contract administration and oversight to local contractors. The DART members help local small businesses with issues that arise during performance periods and the review and timely submission of invoices to facilitate prompt payment. These techniques were used with great success in the aftermath of the April 2010 tornadoes in the Southwest. In the eight affected states, FEMA staff worked with State partners before, during, and after the disasters to identify local businesses that can provide needed supplies and services. In Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia, over $13 million was awarded to local businesses and 90 percent of the local procurement initiatives went to small businesses. In Joplin, Missouri, a DART member worked with a small local business to ensure that they would be eligible to compete for FEMA contracts. They did this by answering questions and providing advice such as the importance of central contracting registration. Not only was this an opportunity for this business to contract with FEMA, but it was also a chance for this business to gain skills and approvals needed to successfully compete for government contracts in the future.

12 8 In addition to our efforts, it is essential that individual businesses have emergency plans. Having a plan can increase the speed at which a business can continue its operations following a disaster. It is especially important that small businesses have an emergency plan since their size alone make them the most vulnerable private sector entities. In order to raise awareness to small businesses about the need for emergency planning, DHS and the Ad Council launched the Ready Business Campaign in September This initiative helps owners and managers of small- and medium-size businesses by providing them with the practical steps and easy-to-use templates that prepare them for emergencies. FEMA will continue to do its part in the recovery by encouraging local businesses to be prepared prior to disasters and providing contracting opportunities for them as much as possible. This concludes my statement. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. [The summary of Mr. Sligh follows:]

13 9 Summary of Testimony - Albert Sligh, Jr. Increasing Small Business Contracting & Exceeding the National 23% Goal FEMA supports recovery by working through local, state, and federal partners to restore needed infrastructure, reopen viable businesscs, and ensure essential government services are operating. Contracting with local businesses is critical to a community's recovery from a disaster. Up to 40% of small businesses fail to recover following a disaster, having a crippling effect on the regional economy. The Post-Katrina Reform Act enhanced FEMA's ability to provide local small business set-asides for disaster affected areas. FEMA adopted new procedures and strategies to engage local business communities to maximize local contracting: o Better market research and working with Central Contractor Registration database for better information about local companies interested in debris removal services. o Deploying newly established Local Business Transition Teams (LBTT) to Joint Field Offices (IFO) to coordinate economic resources and contracting, such as Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC). o Providing small and local businesses competitive advantage. o The creation of the Industry Liaison Program now provides businesses with the info they need to successfully compete for FEMA contracts. Private Sector Preparedness Ready Business Campaign: first launched in 2004 and expanded in 2006, this campaign encourages business owners and managers to discuss the benefits of emergency preparedness measures and the need to plan ahead to ensure they can stay in business following an emergency. The campaign's messages are delivered through: television, radio, print, outdoor and Internet public service announcements (PSAs). o Outreach products include: brochures; web sites in English and Spanish; toll-free phone lines; and partnerships with a variety of publici private sector organizations. o This initiative helps owners and managcrs of small- to medium-sized businesses prepare for emergencies and is designed to assist business and community leaders come together to host and deliver preparedness workshops and training sessions. Engaging the Private Sector & FEMA's "Whole Community" Approach: in August of 2011, FEMA's Public Sector Office hosted the first National Public Private Partnership Conference, which focused on integrating the private sector as part of the Whole Community concept, expanding outreach capability, and increasing private sector emergency management initiatives. o The Private Sector Office created a resource website, social mcdia applications, info on training and grants, and a library of model publicprivate partnerships.

14 Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you. General, please. 10 STATEMENT OF BRIGADIER GENERAL THEODORE HARRISON, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS General HARRISON. Madam Chair, members of the Committee, I am Brigadier General Ted Harrison, Director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Contracting Organization. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today concerning the role of small businesses in disaster response. The Corps continues to work to support FEMA in carrying out a wide variety of missions in response to the natural disasters throughout the Nation and we strive to maintain transparency in our contracting activities and welcome the oversight of our actions. I fully recognize the value that small businesses bring to our national economy. I am personally committed to using small businesses in performing our work, both in the normal course of business and in times of major natural disasters. After a Presidential declaration of disaster, we work to support local communities using local area set-asides permitted by the amended Stafford Act. First, I would like to address pre-disaster contracting. Under the national response framework, the Corps has been designated the coordinator for emergency response function number three, public works and engineering. When tasked by FEMA, the Corps is responsible for providing ice, water, debris removal, and temporary power. The Corps is also a support agency for emergency response function number six, mass care and housing, providing temporary roofing in the wake of a disaster. Due to the necessity to lean forward in time of need, the Corps developed the Advance Contracting Initiative or ACI contracts to quickly respond to major disasters. We used our ACI contracts to support recovery efforts after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma; and we are now using ACI contracts again to respond to tornado recovery missions in both Missouri and Alabama. Although it is always our plan that our ACI contracts are ready to effectively respond to all natural disasters, we have learned that sometimes the magnitude of disasters requires more contract capacity or geographic coverage than is available under the scope of existing ACI contracts. For example, after Katrina, the Corps needed four additional contracts to remove debris in both Mississippi and Louisiana. The Corps of Engineers is dedicated to employing small businesses in response to disaster. Small business subcontracting data for the Corps of Engineers response to the Gulf region s recovery through March of 2007 made it very clear how vital small business participation was to the recovery effort with 88 percent of all subcontracted dollars in Louisiana awarded to small businesses and 84 percent of dollars awarded in Mississippi going to small businesses. In response to the Joplin recovery, the Corps of Engineers has awarded approximately 45 percent of total dollars in support of the recovery directly to small businesses.

15 11 With regard to the Corps overall small business performance, as of September 9 the Corps is exceeding all fiscal year 2011 small business goals for prime contracts. And also to date, fiscal year 2011 data reflects the Corps contractors have awarded 63 percent of subcontracted dollars to small businesses. In regard to the GAO report, , overall the Corps successfully ensures that small businesses are provided the best opportunities to participate in the rebuilding of their local communities after disasters occur. The Corps is in the process of fully implementing the GAO recommendation to provide improved oversight to ensure that our contracting officers are monitoring the extent to which our contractors are meeting subcontracting goals and submitting subcontracting plans. I will be the first to say, however, that we should have better accountability for tracking subcontracting reports through contract completion but we are on the path to getting this right. The Corps has undertaken a number of steps to ensure full accountability in subcontract reporting which has been submitted for the record as a part of my testimony. Looking forward, I am committed to the Corps continuing partnership with local contractors in moving to local area set-asides under the amended Stafford Act as soon as practicable and to local business contractors when market research indicates we have a viable small business within the local area. We will negotiate subcontracting plans with our large business contractors to enable small businesses in all social economic categories to support natural disaster response. Our contracting officers and small business specialists will ensure that proposed subcontracting goals from large businesses are both realistic and attainable but also challenge large businesses to reach higher and find great small businesses to assist in disaster response. The success of the federal small business program is a shared responsibility, and I applaud the efforts of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship for holding agencies accountable to small business obligations. To close, I would like to thank you once again, Chairman Landrieu, for allowing the Corps of Engineers the opportunity to appear before this Committee to discuss our consideration of small business and local area small business awards in disaster response. Our Corps personnel continue to serve by helping response to natural disasters across the nation. We are proud to do so, and I will be happy to answer any questions that members of the Committee may have. Thank you. [The prepared statement of General Harrison follows:]

16 12 U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY COMPLETE STATEMENT OF BRIGADIER GENERAL THEODORE C. HARRISON DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP UNITED STATES SENATE ON DISASTER RECOVERY: EVALUATING THE ROLE OF SMALL BUSINESSES IN REBUILDING THEIR COMMUNITIES September 15,

17 13 Madam Chair and Members of the Committee, I am Brigadier General Theodore C. Harrison, Director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) National Contracting Organization. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today concerning the role of small businesses in responding to disasters. The Corps continues to work in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in carrying out a wide variety of missions in response to disasters throughout the Nation. The Corps strives to maintain transparency in our contracting activities and welcomes oversight of our actions. I fully recognize the value that small businesses bring to our national economy, and I am personally committed to using small businesses in performing our work, both in the normal course of business, and in times of major natural disaster. We use Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, Veteran-Owned, and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned firms to the maximum extent possible, and typically, each year the Corps of Engineers awards 40 percent or more of its prime contract dollars to small businesses. After a Presidential declaration of disaster, we work to support the local community using local area set-asides permitted by the Amended Stafford Act. My statement will address four areas; our pre-disaster contracting; our post disaster declaration focus on contract awards to small businesses and local area set-asides, the GAO Report, entitled "Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Federally Funded Programs Have Helped to Address the Needs of Gulf Coast Small Businesses, But Agency Data on Subcontracting Incomplete," and finally lessons learned. PRE-DISASTER CONTRACTING In a time of disaster, the Department of Homeland Security, National Response Framework dictates our response. Under the National Response Framework the Corps has been designated the coordinator for Emergency Support Function (ESF) #3, Public Works and Engineering. When tasked by FEMA, the Corps is responsible for providing ice, water, debris removal and temporary power. The Corps is also a support agency to ESF #6, Mass Care and Housing providing temporary roofing in the wake of a disaster. Due to the necessity to lean forward in time of need, the Corps developed the Advanced Contracting Initiative or ACI to quickly respond to major disasters. The ACI Program consists of suites of competitively awarded contracts that allow immediate response to water, ice, temporary power, temporary roofing and debris removal missions. The ACI program has been in place for over 11 years with lessons learned applied to new solicitations each time we recompete the ACI contracts. We used our ACI contracts to support recovery efforts after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma and we are now using ACI contracts again to respond to tornado recovery missions in Missouri and Alabama. Although it is always our plan that our ACI contracts are ready to effectively respond to all disasters, we have learned that sometimes the magnitude of disasters require more contract capacity or geographic coverage than is available under the scope of existing 2

18 14 ACI contracts, For Katrina, the Corps needed four additional contracts to remove debris in Mississippi and Louisiana, Each contract was valued at $500 million with an option to increase each contract by an additional $500 million, The contracting officer awarded the contracts competitively on a best value basis, At that time we determined that the sheer magnitude of the work involved did not lend itself to a small business set aside. And the focus was placed on small business subcontracting by the prime contractor, The Corps included aggressive small business subcontracting goals in these additional debris removal contracts, The Corps negotiated a small business subcontracting goal of seventy-three (73%) percent with three of the debris removal contractors and sixty (60%) percent with the fourth debris prime contractor. At the time our standard small business subcontracting goal was fifty-two (52%) percent. After our initial disaster response through our ACI contracts, we use the Stafford Act as amended to move to disaster recovery contracts set-aside for businesses in the local geographic area. FOCUS ON EMPLOYING SMALL BUSINESSES IN RESPONSE TO DISASTER Small business subcontracting data for the Corps of Engineers response to the Gulf regions recovery through March 2007 made it very clear how vital small business participation was to the recovery effort, with eighty-eight (88%) percent of all subcontracted dollars in Louisiana awarded to small businesses and eighty-four (84%) of dollars awarded in Mississippi going to small businesses. As we respond to tornado disaster recovery efforts in Missouri, and Alabama, the Corps is providing opportunities for small businesses to support the rebuilding of their communities. In response to the Joplin recovery, the Corps of Engineers has awarded approximately 45% of total dollars in support of recovery directly to small businesses of which 70% are small businesses from the local geographic area. The remaining small business contracts were awarded to firms from Kansas, Ohio, and Illinois, all within the same region of the country impacted by the tornados, Debris ACI contracts were not available for use in Missouri and required the immediate response to be awarded against the existing large business Security, Disaster, Infrastructure Contract (SDIC) which offered us a world wide scope and the ability to respond immediately, In June 2011, following our initial disaster response through the SDIC contract, we awarded three debris removal contracts valued between $20 million dollars to $40 million dollars to Missouri businesses: Intelligent Investments, Incorporated, a service disabled veteran owned small business from Neosho, Missouri; Larry Snyder and Company, a small business from Ozark, Missouri and R & R Trucking, Incorporated, a large business from Duenweg, Missouri. In Alabama, small businesses have proven to be major contributors in the overall success of the debris removal mission being accomplished under our large business 3

19 15 ACI contractor for the region, Phillips and Jordan. This state-wide geographically dispersed debris mission led us to the conclusion that we needed the highly experienced management and oversight abilities of a large business ACI contractor. Over half of the subcontractors hired by Phillips and Jordan are Alabama-based small businesses. With regard to the Corps' overall small business performance, as of September 9, 2011, the Corps is exceeding all Fiscal Year 2011 Small Business Goals for prime contract awards. To date, our Fiscal Year 2011 data pulled from the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (esrs) reflects that Corps contractors have awarded 63% of subcontracted dollars to small businesses. Our prime contractors responding to a disaster are required to report their subcontracting efforts weekly for the first 90 days and monthly thereafter vice the normal reporting period of every six months. These reporting requirements continue to improve our visibility of small business subcontracting and allow us to track progress against our subcontracting goals. GAO REPORT (10-723) Overall, the Corps successfully ensures that small businesses are provided the best opportunities to participate in the rebuilding of their local communities after disasters occur. Nonetheless, the Corps has continued room for improvement in subcontract reporting and its oversight as illustrated GAO Report The Corps is in the process of fully implementing the GAO recommendation to provide improved oversight to ensure that our contracting officers are monitoring the extent to which our contractors are meeting subcontracting goals and submitting subcontracting plans. I will be the first to say that we should have better accountability for tracking subcontracting reports through contract completion, but we are on the path to getting this right. The Corps has undertaken the following steps to ensure full accountability in subcontract reporting: The Office of Internal Review, at the direction of the Chief of Engineers has undertaken a comprehensive review of the Corps Subcontracting Program that will validate compliance with program objectives and to determine the extent to which the Corps holds prime contractors accountable for meeting subcontracting goals. The report and any findings will be filed in January of 2012 and immediately acted upon by my staff. The Corps fully implemented esrs during Fiscal Year We now have the ability, through esrs, to review all subcontracting reports filed, determine if reports have been filed in a timely manner by the prime contractor, and determine if the reports are complete and if they have been reviewed by the contracting officer. 4

20 16 In accordance with Department of Defense policy, the Corps submits a semi-annual esrs status report to Headquarters, Department of the Army outlining the results of all subcontracting plan reporting activities by contractors and contracting officers for the preceding six month reporting period. Our report includes the number of outstanding reports where no action has been taken by the contracting officer, along with supporting rationale; plans to reduce the number of outstanding reports with a timeline for corrective actions; and barriers preventing acknowledgement of the receipt or rejection of reports. This report is due December 30 and June 30 annually. I have directed the Corps Principal Assistants Responsible for Contracting to include subcontracting reporting as an area for review during their semi-annual Procurement Management Reviews of each National Contracting Organization field contracting office. My staff will report out to me quarterly, during the National Contracting Organization Management Review, the status of all aspects of subcontracting reporting data found in esrs. While the Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs has the lead for responding to the recommendations of GAO Report , the Corps will provide GAO with an implementation timeline for the report recommendations. LESSONS LEARNED Small businesses are vital to the Corps disaster response mission as both prime contractors and subcontractors. Local area set-asides for large and small businesses in response to disasters are successful and put the impacted community back to work. Tiering of subcontracts continues to be problematic in large scale debris response. Unscrupulous subcontractors often respond to disasters and take advantage of their less experienced subcontractor in regard to payment terms and whether payment is rendered at all. Privity of contract prevents the Corps and all government agencies from reaching down to lower tier subcontractors and enforcing payment bonds. Subcontracting reporting has been greatly enhanced and improved through the implementation of the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System. Independent reviews of the National Contracting Organization are welcomed and provide invaluable insight to the Corps on business processes that work and those that need improvement. 5

21 17 LOOKING FORWARD I am committed to the Corps' continued partnership with local contractors and moving to local area set-asides under the amended Stafford Act as soon as practicable and to local small business contractors when market research indicates we have viable small business within the local area. We will negotiate subcontracting plans with our large business contractors to enable small businesses in all socio-economic categories to support disaster response. Our contracting officers and small business specialists will ensure that proposed subcontracting goals from large businesses are realistic and attainable, but also challenge the large business to reach higher to find great small businesses to assist in disaster response. Our large business partners who demonstrate their commitment to the small business community will be awarded higher scores during evaluation of their small business participation during best value source selection. To ensure that the Corps is compliant with subcontracting statutes, I continue to encourage and welcome independent reviews of our small business program. The Corps will continue to always consider small businesses first as we develop our Acquisition Plans. SUMMARY The success of the federal small business program is a shared responsibility and I applaud the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship for holding agencies accountable to their small business obligations. To close, I would like to thank you once again, Madam Chair, for allowing the Corps of Engineers the opportunity to appear before this Committee to discuss our consideration of small business and local area small business awards in disaster response. Our Corps personnel continue to serve by helping in response to natural disasters across the Nation. We are very proud to do so. I would be happy to answer any questions Members of the Committee may have. 6

22 18 Chair LANDRIEU. Thank you, General. Mr. Woods. STATEMENT OF BILL WOODS, DIRECTOR, ACQUISITION AND SOURCING MANAGEMENT, U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT- ABILITY OFFICE Mr. WOODS. Chair Landrieu, Ranking Member Snowe, Senator Brown, thank you for inviting the Government Accountability Office to be here this morning. I would like to address three areas in the time we have this morning. First, I would like to address the general statutory and regulatory framework for how the government responds to major disasters and that would, of course, include an important piece of legislation, the Stafford Act. Second, I would like to update the numbers that we reported on back in July of 2010 on how the obligations were distributed in response to the major hurricanes, and then thirdly, I would like to address the area of subcontract monitoring. When the President declares a national emergency with respect to a major disaster, that brings in the provisions of the Stafford Act. In the area of contracting in particular, the Stafford Act allows for and, in fact, requires that preferences be used with respect to local area businesses, those businesses that are located within the area of the major disaster. There are a couple of ways that the Federal Acquisition Regulation provides for those preferences to be implemented. One is through the use of set-asides where the competition for contracts can be restricted to firms that are located within that affected area, and secondly, the Federal Acquisition Regulation allows for evaluation preferences in those contracts that may be awarded competitively. Importantly, the Stafford Act provides for transition from pre-existing contracts. We encourage the federal agencies to have contracts in place prior to these disasters, but the Stafford Act provides that those contracts should be transitioned to local businesses as quickly as possible. That does not mean canceling contracts, terminating existing contracts, but it does mean looking for opportunities at option periods, for example, or when major portions of a contract are completed to move that work from the pre-existing contractor to local businesses. It is very important that small businesses register with the central contractor registration system or CCR. That is an important way and, in fact, a required way for any business, and particularly small businesses, to be eligible for any of these contracts. Let me move now to the numbers. As I mentioned, we issued a report in July of 2010 covering a number of areas. Let me start with $20.5 billion which was the total amount of contracts awarded for disaster relief in the Gulf region. I should mention that all of these numbers are taken from the federal procurement data system. We updated our numbers through September 1 of this year. Those numbers will always tend to fluctuate. If we look at any given point in time and we come up with one number, if we look a week or a month or a year later, we are very